IV 
KOM-KOM 
45 
of a feeding elephant, and, as the natives explained, 
next day, he had probably dreamt that we were 
in search of him and had wisely decided not to 
make our acquaintance. 
Next morning, at break of day, we started out 
in quest of Kom-Kom and towards eight o’clock 
had the good fortune to find his tracks of the 
previous night. A thrill of excitement ran through 
our party at the discovery, and it was with an 
additional stock of eagerness and energy that 
we began to follow his spoor. By noon, we 
had considerably lessened the distance which 
separated us from our quarry ; his droppings were 
comparatively fresh and the condition of the leaves 
of a nquangwa tree that he had smashed to browse 
upon clearly indicated that he had only preceded 
us by a very brief space of time. Consequently, 
we continued our pursuit with redoubled caution, 
and were making our way in almost breathless 
silence when the sudden, sharp snap of a breaking 
tree warned us that he could not be more than 
fifty yards ahead. Yet the bush formed so dense 
a curtain of foliage about us that it was impossible 
to catch the slightest glimpse of him, and knowing 
the risks incurred under such conditions I bade 
my tracker, Simba, who had been carefully spooring 
in front of me, fall behind. (This order 1 always 
give when in close proximity to our quarry.) 
